Combination headlight reflector



May 19, 1925. 1,538,013

E. WHITAKER COMBINATION HEADLIGHT REFLECTOR Filed Feb'. 5, 1924 In u e-n(107"; Ed Whi take 7-, a;

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Patented May 19, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ED WHITAKER, OF WATERLOO, IOWA, ASSIGNOBI, BY DIRECT ANI)"MESNE"ASSIG N-MEN'IS, OF ONE-THIRD TO IRETA L. ESCHER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

COMBINATION HEADLIGHT REFLECTOR.

Application filed February 5, 1924. Serial No. 690,747.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ED'VVHITAKER, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of ater-loo, Black Hawk County, Iowa, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Combination HeadlightReflectors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in combination headlightreflectors, and the object of my improvement is to supply a lamp of thistype with such a combination of reflecting devices about a source ofillumination, that the light from said source shall be all substantiallyemployed, and directed to illuminate a desired limited area.

This object I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafterdescribed and claimed, and which are illustrated by the annexeddrawings, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment ofinvention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what isclaimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In said drawings, Fig. 1 is a vertical medial longitudinal section of myimproved dgvice, and Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereo,

It is desirable and necessary that head lights of vehicles which includea relatively powerful source of illumination should also include meansfor segregating the directed light toward certain limited areas inadvance to avoid inconveniencing the drivers of vehicles approachingfrom an opposite direction, and it is also desirable that substantiallyall of the light rays emitted by said source should be employed for thatpurpose without having a certain proportion lost because of beingradiated into space without the desired limited area being properlyilluminated.

My device is therefore contrived to secure both these desired objects,and of course both the elements of the lamp and the kind of source ofillumination may be varied at will to effect these results.

In the drawings is shown in exemplification one kind of lamp comprisinga lamp shell 2 within which is mounted a parabolic reflector 1, theirinterspace receiving the conducting wires of an electric-lamp bulb 9mounted in a socket 8, the wires also be- Instead of mounting anelectric lamp at or near the focal point of the reflector 1, I havemounted it adjacent the upper part of the inner reflecting face of thehood 6, an opening being provided in said hood to receive the socket 8therethrough, and I have also provided a removable housing member 7about said socket 8 secured to said lamp-jv shell and to said hood.

The numeral 5 denotes a fiat se, ;mental covering plate for the lowerpart of there; 1 flector 1, having its inner face provided-""q with areflecting surface opposed to the re-" flector 1 and secured detachablyto the lampshell below the hood 6. this plate 5 serving as a lowerreflecting screen, and the interspace of the screens 5 and 6 beingfilled by a transparent plate 10 mounted between clamping elements 11.

When the parabolic or other kind of concave reflector 1 has an openingas in ordinary lamps to receive a bulb-socket, and it is desired toapply the screens 5 and 6 or either of them to the reflector as shown,the opening 3 may have a stem secured therein provided with a domicalboss 4 having a reflecting surface, to prevent any interruption of thereflecting face of the reflector.

As so constructed and arranged, with the lamp 9 positioned above andforward of the focal point of the reflector 1 and near the hood 6, lightrays from the lamp are reflected from the hood toward the reflector 1,and light rays which are directed from the lamp upon said reflector arein part reflected toward the reflecting surface of the lower plate 5,whereby the lamp rays are approximately wholly directed through thewindowplate 10 and by the restriction of the parts 5 and 6 are directedto illuminate a desired area ahead as indicated by the scope between thehorizontal and vertical arrows in Fig. 1.

The light is thus dimmed for an approaching vehicle, and concentrated onthe road properly.

Having described my'invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is:

A device of the character described, comprising a concave reflector, acurvate hood positioned across the upper front part of the reflector andhaving an inner reflecting face, a source of illumination adjacent thesaid reflecting face above the focal point of the concave reflector, anda flat reflector screen positiond across the lower front part of saidconcave reflector and with a horizontal upper edge spaced verticallyfrom the loWer edge of said upper hood, the hood and screen cooperatingin directing light emitted between them Within certain vertical limitsand emitting light laterally between the hood and screen.

Signed at lVaterloo, IoW'a;'=this 10th day of Jan, 1924.

ED WHITAKER.

